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[on:]

I am working on a project in which I wish to be able output sensor data to be viewed on several types of devices.  Ideally, iPhone, Android, & Win8 phones, as well as PC's and Mac's. I already made a prototype board and used USB serial to output to my PC and it works very well.  I've also recently installed a BT shield and used SoftwareSerial to output to my PC.  However, I have always found BlueTooth to be a hassle to use with regards to pairing, and COM ports changing seemingly randomly.  I also am finding that it will be difficult to get a BT device that iPhones can connect with.  I am wondering if it is possible to use WiFi to achieve the same goals.  In other wards, could install a WiFi shield and have it broadcast an SSID that devices could connect to, and then could I output data from to the device via SoftwareSerial as I did with the Bluetooth shield?

Thanks in advance.

[Reply #1 on:]

a year ago I had done a similar project and I also want to get a page to display in all devices( iphone, andoid ...)
My solution was get a Ethernet shield on it, create a nice page with all sensors information and then connect it with a cheap wifi-router with DHCP active, an SSID "DeviceXXX" and the arduino on the same network.
Then all devices can detect the network and join  arduino network, accessing the web page  and see all information
If you want you can also expose the arduino to the internet create a nat function on the wireless router,this way you can acess it from the internet 

[Reply #2 on:]

Unfortunately that solution will not work for me, as the device is not designed to be used near a router.  I am just trying to find a way, other than BlueTooth (if possible) to create a connection between two devices, one being the Arduino.  I don't need internet access.  I guess WiFi is probably overkill for what I am trying to achieve.  Maybe I should just face the fact that I will need to stick with BlueTooth.

[Reply #3 on:]

Unfortunately that solution will not work for me, as the device is not designed to be used near a router.  I am just trying to find a way, other than BlueTooth (if possible) to create a connection between two devices, one being the Arduino.  I don't need internet access.  I guess WiFi is probably overkill for what I am trying to achieve.  Maybe I should just face the fact that I will need to stick with BlueTooth.

No, WiFi is not overkill. It may have much more data transfer rate than you need, however it is ubiquitous and nearly all mobile phones, tablets, laptops etc. can easily connect to it.
Bluetooth on the other hand is much less power hungry than WiFi.
If power in not a problem than you still should be able to connect the Ethernet card to a little Pocket router such as the TP- Link WR703n or WR702n. These accept 5V USB power and you can run them off of the Arduino. Not only is that likely less expensive than a WiFi shield but also probably works better. The TP link can work as its own AP, so you can connect directly to it without the use of another router.

I've done it in two projects and it works flawlessly.

[Reply #4 on:]

Thanks,  I will look into that, that seems like it could be a very good solution for me.  Power consumption is partially a concern as the device I am making will have the option for battery power, but since it will be in a vehicle most the time, the option to run off the cigarette lighter will also be there.  Thanks again for the information.  My experience with wireless protocols is limited to using them and this is my first venture into learning about the inner-workings and using one for a project of mine.